Chemical & Engineering News features new chemical microscopy degree

North Central College’s new chemical microscopy degree is featured in a two-page spread in the Oct. 17 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, a journal of the American Chemical Society.

The article describes how North Central College is offering the nation’s first four-year degree in chemical microscopy through a partnership with Hooke College of Applied Sciences in Westmont.

“Chemistry majors rarely get the chance to acquire much microscopy experience during their undergraduate years,” the article begins. “But with the launch this fall semester of a new program at a Chicago-area college, not only will chemistry undergraduates have the opportunity to acquire substantial skills in chemistry-based microscopy, they will also have the option of earning a bachelor’s degree in the subject.”

The story features Jeffrey Jankowski, associate professor of chemistry, and freshman Marissa Bartz—the first person to declare chemical microscopy as her undergraduate major at North Central College—and therefore in the nation.

“When I tell people about my major, they all say it sounds really interesting, but some of them are hesitant to sign up for a lot of chemistry classes,” Bartz told Chemical & Engineering News. “She tells them: ‘You should join me. It’s really cool!’”